So its been about 6 weeks now. I’ve tried to be a “good diabetic” read literature, read online, count my carbs. test test test. take my meds. Still I’m overwhelmed. I’ve accidentally forgotten to take my meds 2x in a row and I never forget to take meds. I think its a sign of being tired of it! I know I don’t ask my endo enough questions. Maybe you guys have ideas. I know my numbers, and I know they are bad. I know they are getting better with mega doses of pills. What I don’t know is, am I really eating right? What is supposedly mild, advanced diabetes. My doctor asks me about diet and exercise but she’s never said, well if you keep taking off weight or whatever. Maybe I just want to know where I am going and I need a magic 8 ball for it. Any ideas are appreciated.
I highly recommend going to a CDE - certified diabetes educator. Your doctor can write an order for you. Many CDEs have group programs and support groups too, and also work with RDs - registered dieticians. Of course you are overwhelmed! It’s a big change to swallow. Keep taking small steps, and keep in touch here.
Check out Blood Sugar 101. It’s a great resource. I’m thinking the topics “Do people with Type 2 always deteriorate?”, “The patterns in which diabetes develops”, and “How Blood Sugar Control Works–And How It Stops Working” might help.
I’m a type 1, so I have had to take insulin for almost 20 years and I even forget to bolus a dosage from my pump now and then. Diabetes is with us for the long haul. Give yourself permission to have slip-ups. It’s going to happen.
I agree with Marie that a CDE is indispensable for these little details. They will help you answer your most frustrated questions. I’m always impressed at the up-to-date technology my CDE knows and her ability to see trends and suggest fixes in my meds. She even joined here after I told her about the community!
the website Megan has suggested is done by one of our most knowledgable members here, Jenny.
Well I have been diabetic for over 5 and a half years now and let me tell you this. the first few months or so are going to be the hardest and most difficult for everyone. For me it was the whole first year. I was 13 at the age of my diagnosis and well for me to give up alot of junk food that every teenager loves was hard. also for me to learn to take my shots on time and count carbs and exercise regularly was extremly hard.
everyone that has said it is right, a CDE is the best source of help and support(aside from family and friends) they can give you everything you need and teach you even more than anything you read in a book or online.
also its a terribly sad movie BUT the movie Steel Magnolias w/ Julia Roberts in it shows you exactly what can and eventually will happen to a diabetic that doesn’t take care of themself. And it is deffinalty a good way to give yourself a “push” to maintain a proper and well balanced life-style fit for a diabetic.
I wish you the best of luck
Thank you much!! My hubby thinks i am being to hard on myself but I am also reading Dr. Bernstein and I keep thinking – if he andhis patients and do it, why does it seem so hard and depressing to me?
I did see a CDE. She was great and also had diabetes so she was could relate. I think it was just too close after the diagnosis and my head was in a spin. I am supposed to go to some classes in January that she runs. I am trying to sort it out and the TuDiabetes site has been a great inspiration and support so thank you all. I guess I am going to head over to Blood Sugar 101 and keep reading. I guess I just freeze up in the doctor’s office and just want the aptt over. Then I leave and spend days wishing I had asked some real questions.
Glad to see you are seeing a CDE. As for wishing you had “asked some real questions”, write them down when you think of them. You then have the choice of taking these questions to your next appointment, or calling your doctor and asking. You may not receive the answer right away, but you will know that you asked. Any good doctor will not mind the questions, in fact it will show that you are serious about your health.
Do not let diabetes win!
Dear Rixie.
Well we have never spoken to Dr. Bernstein patients. Knowing how humans are wired I can assure you that eating a very low calorie and carb diet when nearly everyone around you is eating a lot and TV constantly bombards you with food ads must be hell on earth for any human. Maybe the Dalai Lama would make a good diabetic.
Wow a CDE with diabetes. Go to the Doctor with a written questions and concerns and give him a copy at the beginnig. I he feels uncomfy find another Doctor.
Think about it this way. When I was first diagnosed 34 years ago, the doctor said something ot me that has stuck with me. I asked when this disease would become part of me. He said at first it is a problem, you will forget your meds and you will decide at some points to ignore your disease… When you do you will feel very sick and you will really regret it. Overtime you will be tired of sick and tired. When that happens you will no longer want to cheat and you will no longer forget. He said the quicker you get there the better, but that all diabetics in one form or another have to go through it.
I learned my lesson late, but I learned it. When you ask yourself this question, are you tired of being sick and tired, I suspect you will find more peace.
Rick Phillips
If your numbers are high you are probably eating too much. Smaller size portions will help. Less food consumption will mean less pills.
Hi Rixie,
It’s overwhelming to us all, especially at first. Glad you’re here & happy you’re finding the info & support we all need.
I follow Dr. Bernstein’s recommendations. Not always easy, but I find the alternative even more depressing. If I can do it, you can–really.
I bet there a lots of us who have forgotten to take meds. I did just the other night. Yea, felt really stupid & wanted to kick myself. I’m Type 1 & forgetting my bedtime injection was bad. Another time, I took two injections of one type of insulin & didn’t take the other. I crashed like a rock. It happens.
It will get easier, I promise.
I am working hard on this part and its helped bring my # down. I am testing before and after meals, and tracking and minimizing my carbs. And my waist appreciates it. Still I hate being on so many meds. Arica